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Jiralhanae (Earth-5875)
The jiralhanae (Latin Servus ferox, meaning "wild slave"), known to humans as Brutes, are a massive, brutish and carnivorous sapient species of pseudo-ursine mammals from Doisac. Discovered by the Covenant in 2492, they became the last species to be enslaved by the hegemony. Upon being inducted into the Covenant, the jiralhanae developed an intense feud and intense hatred for the sangheili, unlike any other in the Covenant, which was fueled by the naturally aggressive behavior and pack-based mentality of the jiralhanae against the sangheili's xenophobia and sense of societal superiority. An extremely strong species, they surpassed both the sangheili and SPARTAN in terms of strength, and placed a large emphasis on brutality, considered savages by the other species of the Covenant. Their potential for blindly obedience and feud with the sangheili prompted a decades-long plan plotted by the Prophet of Truth to replace the jiralhanae for the sangheili, which was slowly realized through the jiralhanae achieving positions of power and being given freedom in military engagements. At last, in 2552, the Prophet of Truth had his jiralhanae-loyal soldiers and commanders betray and purge the sangheili High Councilors and high-ranking commanders through Covenant space, leading to the catastrophic Great Schism, eventually leading to the breaking and fall of the Covenant. The Schism between the sangheili and the jiralhanae continued well after the end of the First Contact War. History The Ark and reseeding .]] The jiralhanae became one of the many predator species on Doisac, having evolved from tree-dwelling mammals that developed under the planet's harsh and diverse environment. During the Forerunner-Xenomorph War, the Librarian and her Lifeworkers visited Doisac as a part of the Conservation Measure to save jiralhanae specimens and index them in the Ark so they could survive the activation of the Halo Array. After the rings were lighted and all life extinct, the jiralhanae, alongside all remaining living species in the galaxy, were returned to their homeworld through keyships, where they started rebuilding their culture and civilization. Development of civilization and the Covenant .]]In the millennia that followed their reintroduction, the jiralhanae were able to achieve Tier 4 technology. However, their prone war-like nature and infighting led them to engage in a massive global war, where numerous master-packs fought for territorial control in what became known as the First Immolation. The war was one of attrition and was catastrophic, lasting a whole decade, leading the jiralhanae packs to use nuclear weapons that severely devastated Doisac, resulting in a nuclear holocaust. The results of the holocaust nearly led the jiralhanae to self-extinction, and while they survived, the situation was dire and their society collapsed; by the time the Covenant made first contact with the species in 2492, the jiralhanae were just rediscovering radio and rocketry. While many jiralhanae were more than eager to join the Covenant duo to a search for meaning and theology in their lives after the Immolation, such as the many persuaded by Chieftain Maccabeus, many resisted with ferocity and violence against the alien invaders. These jiralhanae were quickly slaughtered by the Covenant's war machine and those who surrendered were enslaved into the Covenant. As many searched for theology and meaning, they were quickly to accept the Path, the Great Journey and reverence for the forerunners. Soon upon the jiralhanae's inclusion in the Covenant as its eight member-species, they were immediately distrusted by the sangheili, who attempted to persuade the High Council to simply eliminate them, as their brutalist and pack mentality would bring an inevitable conflict between the two species, where they cited that the natural instincts of the jiralhanae would lead them to fight to the top of the Covenant's caste, and that peaceful urges of the jiralhanae should have been "aggressively encouraged". The High Council and the Hierarchs agreed, and so they placed massive restrictions over the technology handled by the jiralhanae, forcing them to use weapons of their own design. While the plan was meant to diminish a potential animosity between the jiralhanae and the sangheili, it only served to increase it. Serving in the Covenant Armada as shock troops and cannon fodder, the ranks given to the jiralhanae by their sangheili became merely extensions of some of their own pack-based structures. The jiralhanae were settled on resource-rich worlds of the Covenant to guard them from intruders or pirates seeking to claim their resources, but they lacked any real resources for themselves to effectively govern these planets, a method used by the san'shyuum to ensure they would not rebel. First Contact War soldiers during Operation UPPER CUT at the Fall of Reach.]] Jiralhanae warriors participated in many battles throughout the First Contact War against humanity, from the first contact on Shanxi to the fall of Reach, the Battle of Installation 00 and the Battle of Earth. Despite their effectiveness on combat, the jiralhanae always remained second-class and subordinate to the sangheili, who mistreated them as savages. During the conflict, the Prophet of Truth feared for the sangheili's rising suspicion over the nature of the war against humanity, and so he started a plan to slowly replace the sangheili with the jiralhanae in the Covenant's military leadership, as he believed the jiralhanae would be easier to manipulate and control to ensure the war with the humans would finally end. Tartarus, a notably cunning Chieftain, became the protege of Truth after the Hierarch observed his inspiration of respect and leadership at the young age of 43. During the final years of the First Contact War, Truth had Tartarus rise through the ranks, eventually becoming one of the Covenant's greatest warriors. High Councilors.]] During the final months of the war, Truth acquired the allegiance and loyalty of multiple san'shyuum High Councilors, who decided to promote the jiralhanae in the ranks of the Covenant Armada, a position which had been occupied by the sangheili ever since the founding of the Covenant. The death of the Prophet of Regret at the hands of John-117 during the Battle of Installation 05 was the cataclysm for Truth's plans, who used the sangheili as an scapegoat for the death of a Hierarch (which he helped to orchestrate), as well as the failure of the sangheili to protect Installation 04, leading to he and the Prophet of Mercy declaring the Changing of the Guard - a direct violation of the founding Writ of Union, where the jiralhanae took over the Honor Guard of the Covenant. Most of the sangheili High Councilors threatened to resign if the Hierarchs continued to carry on. After several decades, Truth finally fulfilled his plan on November 3rd, 2552. After Tartarus had seemingly disposed of Arbiter Thel 'Vadamee, the jiralhanae loyal to Tartarus led a massacre on the sangheili High Councilors on Installation 05, eventually starting the Great Schism, a massive civil war that forced the sangheili out of the Covenant and effectively fracturing the hegemony. While Tartarus attempted to start the Great Journey by activating Halo, he was killed in a deadly duel against the Arbiter, who formed the Swords of Sanghelios, and, alongside Rtas 'Vadum, formed a tentative alliance with the UNSC. Post-First Contact War during the continuing Great Schism.]] Following the Covenant's fall at the Ark, the jiralhanae splintered into many tribes for power. Many returned to Doisac and continued to fight against one another for control of resources. Many jiralhanae continued to fight against the sangheili on the Great Schism, and the two species remained in open war for the following decade with no end in sight, while the jiralhanae themselves also fell into multiple civil conflicts over the worlds they had been left with, much like the sangheili with the Blooding Years. Following the mysterious disappearance of the few remaining living san'shyuum and huragok, the jiralhanae lost most of their technology, which allowed the sangheili to gain the upper hand, although they themselves had also lost significant amounts of their technology and expertise for the same motives. Duo to the lack of resources and technology to survive, many jiralhanae resorted to raid sangheili, human, and kig-yar-dominated territories and settlements, only provoking further violence between the two species. Many packs and master-packs still devout to the Great Journey remained hidden through the corners of the Orion Arm, in the hopes of amassing enough power to continue what the Covenant started. Some exceptions existed, such as Chieftain Lydus, who, on March 5th, 2563, sought to begin peace talks with the sangheili and humanity on Ealen IV. The peace talks, however, were foiled by the combined forces of the New Colonial Alliance and the Blue Suns. The mercenary organization Banished, which broke away from the Covenant in 2549, is led by jiralhanae, who also fill most of the ranks. They started amassing power through the end of the First Contact War until they were able to occupy the Ark in late 2564. Other jiralhanae continued to serve their sangheili masters as slaves and security guards on numerous colonies. Many betrayed their masters, with many servants launching a terrorist attack on Ontom in March 2553. Biology Anatomy and physiology , Chieftain of the Jiralhanae.]] Jiralhanae are large and massive, averaging from 9' 2" (280 cm) to 9' 6" (289 cm), while their weight average from 1,125 lbs (510 kgs) to 1,500 lbs (680 kgs). As such, they tower even their fellow species in the Covenant, including the sangheili, and thus are the second tallest species of the Covenant, only behind the mgalekgolo. They are a carnivorous mammals, sharing many physical similarities with Earth's gorillas, bears, and rhinoceros. Because of their many bear-like traits, they are classified as pseudo-ursines by the UNSC and the Office of Naval Intelligence. Much like humans, jiralhanae possesses a range of skin colors, from tanned, to black and grey, to brown, as well as large quantities of fur, which can also vary in color, from grey, to brown, black, and, in extremely rare cases, white. In the Covenant and its splinter factions, many jiralhanae shave most of their fur for tactical purposes. Their height is a result of their homeplanet Doisac, which has a gravity twice that of Earth. Immensely strong and resilient, jiralhanae are able to brutalize others with melee attacks without the need of weaponry, and are capable of withstanding critical injuries and attacks. They have sharp teeth, and claws, which they use as natural weapons on the battlefield. During a battle, jiralhanae are prone to berserk in rage, rushing towards their enemies in a fist of terrifying aggression, which likely results in the slaughter of the opponent. Jiralhanae have three fingers on each hand including opposable thumbs, and their feet has only two digits, which thick and sharp claws. Duo to their simian-like physiology and similarity to humans, they are able to use many of the Covenant's and UNSC's weapons. Jiralhanae blood is purplish red. They evolved as carnivores and predators at the top of the food chain on Doisac, these traits are noticeable through their fanged jaws and violent behavior. Jiralhanae are known cannibals, and also to eat the flesh of their enemies and even fallen allies. Their diet consider of the consumption of eiroch meat to be a delicacy, and their sense of smell is very acute, with their olfactory glands being highly sensitive to any new or otherwise strange smell on the air. Young jiralhanae release pheromones only others of their species can sense, although this release is fully controlled and halted upon their maturity. Culture Fleetmaster Thel 'Vadamee.]] Within the doctrine of the Covenant, the jiralhanae were known for their zealotry and devotion to the Great Journey, holding an unshaken loyalty and unquestioning reverence to the Hierarchs and their promises. However, even after their incorporation and enslavement into the Covenant, many jiralhanae came to reject the notion of the forerunners as gods, although they kept it to themselves to avoid death and being branded heretics. Soon after the fall of the Covenant, many members of the species abandoned faith in the Path. Doisac, the jiralhanae homeworld, is devastated by war, something which increased with the outbreak of the Great Schism, acts carried out by their vicious desires and regimented discipline. Before their conversion into the Covenant, many jiralhanae cults revolved around worshiping of idols that represented the lunar cycles of the three moons of Doisac; after the First Immolation, their search for a bigger theological meaning led many to promptly accept the Covenant, and make them some of the most adherent followers of the Path, despite their little concept of sanctity or care towards forerunner technology, such as 343 Guilty Spark, who was improperly handled by Chieftain of the Jiralhanae Tartarus. battling in New Alexandria during the Fall of Reach.]] Jiralhanae emphasize discipline, strength, pragmacy and utilitarianism in their fighting styles. Because they were prohibited access from numerous Covenant-based weapons and technology upon their introduction in the Covenant, unlike the other species, they use weapons of their own design. Despite these weapons' primitive nature when compared to the plasma-based weaponry of the Covenant, they are extremely brutal and dangerous, featuring blade attachments and ballistic-like weaponry similar to that made and used by humans. They consist of the Type-25 Spiker, the Type-52 Mauler, the Type-25 Brute shot, and the Type-2 gravity hammer, which showcase the brutal nature of the jiralhanae through design and their human-given names. While the sangheili abhorred the jiralhanae weapons, they allowed them to be serviced and used by jiralhanae warriors in low numbers. Unlike the sangheili and the other species of the Covenant, jiralhanae have no qualms or superstitions about using human weapons from fallen human enemies. The jiralhanae dislike most of the other species in the known galaxy, with the exception of the san'shyuum, but mostly the sangheili duo to their segregation and mistreatment of the jiralhanae during their lives under the Covenant. Naturally, this led to the jiralhanae to view themselves as potential worthier successors and protectors of the Hierarchs. This animosity was simultaneously shared by the sangheili, and the Prophet of Truth used of this situation to start the Great Schism. Many jiralhanae surrendered during the event, and had their lives spared, becoming slaves and laborers at Sanghelios and other sangheili colonies after the end of the First Contact War. Society ", an example of a fierce Chieftain.]] Jiralhanae society is dominated by packs and focus on lineages, with family members tying to one another, represented in berserking violence when one of their pack mates are killed. Jiralhanae society is an authoritarian dictatorship led by a pack's strongest male, who display their dominance through social, sexual, and martial success. The patriarchy also produces patricide, as younger jiralhanae become obsessed with rising at the top of their own packs. Female jiralhanae only serve as caretakers of children and have no say in societal relations. However, blood relations do not make a troublemaker or traitor immune to punishment, which in fact only worsens the outcome. Packs are led by Chieftains, who hold their own Type-2 gravity hammers. The hammer is passed from one Chieftain to the next after the death of the previous one. New chieftains are either named after the death of the previous, or during deadly duel matches, in which the victor claim the title of Chieftain. Packs are essentially ruled as mini-empires, and each jiralhanae rank within the Covenant Armada and the Covenant's splinter factions is only given to a warrior based on their prowess in battle, differently from the martial-minded sangheili. Jiralhanae leaders denote their status and pack affiliation by a series of images, such as their shaven fur, hair and beard, as well as their ornate armors and tattoos which symbolizes different things for each culture. Role within the Covenant .]] While the sangheili commanded the armada of the Covenant, as well as serving as the personal protectors of the san'shyuum, the High Council, and the Hierarchs themselves, the jiralhanae were relegated as cannon fodder, shock troops, and bodyguards of the Covenant. When the Great Schism broke out, the jiralhanae soon replaced the sangheili in all of the Covenant's power castes. When they were assigned command to other species, such as unggoy, kig-yar, yanme'e, and huragok, they treated them badly if they failed to meet up the expectations imposed to the jiralhanae as per the command of the sangheili. In the case they failed their tasks, the jiralhanae could very well execute their subordinates to prove themselves to the san'shyuum. Jiralhanae fleets were largely segregated from those of the sangheili, although they were the only species aside from the sangheili to be permitted to pilot their own ships, although they were heavily outdated and smaller, such as the ''CRS''-class light cruiser. Packs were commonly deployed under a Chieftain or a Captain as shock troops and bodyguards of Covenant bases, although they also filled combat roles akin to the sangheili by commanding lesser infantry. Jiralhanae were not equipped with energy shields. Language The native languages of the jiralhanae is an animalistic tongue that incorporates a series of growls, barks, roars and howls. Aside from their languages, jiralhanae can also communicate through pheromone secretion, which the younger members of the species cannot control until they reach maturity. Chieftains howl alongside their packs to celebrate victories or moments, and any pack members who fails to howl is considered disrespectful towards the authority imposed by the Chieftain. Homeworld and colonies Doisac is the homeworld of the jiralhanae, possessing three moons: Warial, Soirapt, and Teash. The third planet in the Oth Sonin system, the planet has a population of 12.5 billion jiralhanae, and the environment is filled with dense jungles, tundras, deserts, magma, and magnetism. The Covenant settled jiralhanae on numerous resource-rich worlds throughout the empire to secure them from thieves, but were not granted technology necessary to effectively govern them. After the fall of the Covenant and the end of the First Contact War, the jiralhanae were left stranded behind on these colonies, and their inability to sustain themselves prompted them to raid territories belonging to other species. Category:Earth-5875 Category:Jiralhanae of Earth-5875 Category:Sapient species of Earth-5875 Category:Species of Earth-5875 Category:Species Category:Races Category:Created by Draft227 Category:Host species (Earth-5875) Category:Covenant species (Earth-5875)